All posts tagged "software"

Thursday, February 26, 2009

"Resco announced today the availability of the brand new application, Resco Contact Manager. After a great demand from users to develop an application which would allow quick access to and management of contacts and text messages, Resco is proud to welcome its latest addition into its application family. Resco Contact Manager is fully touch-optimized while offering superior tools in order to manage your contacts. The application allows you to easily navigate, search quickly by letter navigation, view text message conversations in a chat-like view and much more."

If you've never been happy with Windows Mobile's contacts and call manager, and want something with a little more "wow" to it, check out Resco Contact Manager. It's available in the form of a free trial version, and a full version for $24.95.

Tuesday, February 24, 2009

"One of the most common questions we are asked on this blog is "When will this be available for my phone?". Well for all you Windows Mobile fans the answer is "now" for the Google Mobile App. Try it out by downloading it from http://m.google.com/search on your mobile phone."

If you're a googleholic and want more Google on your device, go ahead and download it now. The video looks pretty sweet, I think I'll probably wander over and give it a shot. What about you?

Tuesday, February 17, 2009

"Our engineers have been hard at work on Skype for Windows Mobile over the last few months. Just over two months after the release of 2.5 Beta, we're ready to share the Gold version with you. We've fixed a bunch of bugs, and smoothed and refined the user experience on new devices. Head over and download it now - for both Pocket PC and Smartphone devices. However, I know how keen you are to learn about the latest beta versions from our labs, and so we're also previewing the first beta of Skype 3.0 for Windows Mobile at Mobile World Congress in Barcelona today. It includes two great new features: SMS and file transfer. With 3.0 Beta, you can send text messages from your phone at Skype's low rates, and send and receive files with your Skype contacts around the world. We'll be releasing 3.0 Beta in March, so keep your eyes peeled for more news on this blog."

The folks at Skype have unleashed the gold version of Skype 2.5 for Windows Mobile. And there's plenty more coming in the months ahead, starting with the beta version of Skype 3.0, and a Skype panel for the Sony Ericsson XPERIA X1.

Monday, February 16, 2009

"I like the new Windows Mobile 6.5 interface, specially the new home screen, which is brilliantly executed. Running on the new HTC Touch Diamond 2, everything looked smoother, cleaner, and matched the iPhone's lick factor."

Jesus Diaz of Gizmodo was lucky enough to get a little touchy feely time with not only Windows Mobile 6.5 but also the HTC Touch Diamond2. From what we can see from the video posted on Gizmodo, the new version of Windows Mobile looks really nifty, though a bit sluggish at times. It is my understanding that the platform is not production ready yet so hopefully by the time we start seeing some of these drool worthy devices popping up at our favorite retailers in the near future a lot of the kinks and jerky movements that are seen in this video will be a thing of the past.

"At the Mobile World Congress show, what Microsoft didn’t roll out is as interesting as what it did. During a February 16 press conference at the show..., CEO Steve Ballmer and Senior Vice President of Mobile Communications Andy Lees told attendees that the company is making some tweaks to its mobile strategy: It is no longer focusing primarily on business customers, but both business and consumer users; and is no longer thinking about mobile devices in a vacuum (instead it’s now about phones and software and services)."

If you feel like your head is going to explode from the massive amount of Windows Mobile news we were presented with today then you might want to take a second to check out Mary Jo Foley's cheat sheet to Microsoft's MWC goodies. One thing that has become painfully clear today is that Microsoft likes to play musical chairs with their branding scheme. I personally wish they would just pick a name and stick with it for more than a few years but a fresh new name could have been exactly what Microsoft needed to wash away the negative taste previous versions of Windows Mobile has left on our collective tongues. Some of the things Mary Jo covers in this cheat sheet are things like Zune Mobile, Windows Mobile 6.5, Windows Mobile 7, Microsoft's My Phone service and more. This is an exciting time to be a Windows Mobile user!

I posted about My Phone last week, but my understanding of it was incorrect - which is kind of funny given that I was part of a briefing about it at Mobius in late 2008. What can I tell you other than it's painful to try to keep track of all these Microsoft "sky-codename" services.

My Phone is, currently, strictly a backup program. It's not "Exchange for everyone else" like I thought, though clearly the team is thinking along those lines. At launch, My Phone is simply a way to keep your contacts, calendar, tasks, text messages, photos, videos, music, and documents backed up to Microsoft servers so, in case of phone loss or damage, your stuff will be protected. It's not a cloud sync tool like I first thought, but the pieces are certainly there to allow for that. It's not a substitute for a program such as Spb Backup [affiliate] for instance, because it won't keep an image of your device with all your programs installed.

Document types supported for sync are ppt, xls, doc, one, wks) as well as txt, rtf, pdf, html and xml. It's kind of curious that it wouldn't just allow you to specify a folder and take everything in it. It will work over WiFi, so if you have a limited data account you can use WiFi for your initial sync then use your data plan for updates beyond that.

At launch, Microsoft is offering 200 MB of storage, and the service is free. Right now it's advertising driven, but it's simple enough for Microsoft to add carrier branding and you'd have "Verizon My Phone" or something similar. It will work with any Windows Mobile 6.0 or 6.1 smartphone, both Standard and Professional devices. If your phone already has Exchange sync, that takes priority over your Contacts / Calendar / Tasks, which makes sense. Multiple phones are going to be supported - apparently it's going to be as many as you want. I suspect that 200 MB is per account though, not per phone, so if you have four phones you'll still have 200 MB total. Premium accounts with more storage is an option Microsoft is considering. After the break are some screen shots of My Phone. Read more...

Say hello to Windows Mobile 6.5 - a handful of screen shots from the current alpha code that is. Windows Mobile 6.5 represents a significant departure from previous versions of Windows Mobile in terms of user interface, finger friendliness, and certainly in terms of browser functionality. The screen shot above is the new home screen - and you can see the Zune-like qualities it has. The home screen supports gestures, so you can swipe left or right to drill into certain options.

I'm not sure that home screen is optional, or whether third-party plug-ins will be allowed to modify it, because at first glance my thought is that I can't see my upcoming appointments, which I like having. Love it or hate it, for those that have complained that Windows Mobile has looked the same for years, you can't say that any longer! Check out all the screen shots after the break. Read more...

"In the age of streaming everything, mobile browsers are definitely not having an easy time keeping up. At best, streaming a video to an OEM smartphone browser is a complete mess; at worst, it's impossible. Enter Skyfire, a third-party browser we've covered here on BGR before and the best way to describe it might be to quote the company's homepage pitch: "Watch any video, listen to any music, stay connected with friends, browse whatever you want." Of course that's a bit of a reach but Skyfire does multimedia processing on the server side, opening up a whole new range of sites and services that become accessible - Hulu, YouTube, Last.fm, the Hype Machine and so on. Skyfire today announced the availability of version 0.9 of its mobile browser which includes tons of tweaks and new functionality"

SkyFire has a new release out which our colleagues over at The Boy Genius Report seem to be interested in as much as anyone else. With news this week of Fennec moving into "milestone" release, it's been a busy week for browsers. Head on over to SkyFire's website and grab a copy for yourself, or head to the Boy Genius Report and see some of the features listed.

Sunday, February 15, 2009

"Microsoft Recite Technology Preview makes a busy mobile lifestyle easier by providing an easy method for remembering, searching, and retrieving mental notes and reminders from their Windows Mobile® device using the sound of their voice. Without navigating menus or tapping out text just speak your mental note to store it. Later, when you need the information just search and retrieve the remembrance using your voice."

Microsoft has taken voice notes to a new level. The tech preview of Recite is now available for devices running Windows Mobile 6.0 and higher. What sets it apart from the default Notes application is that you can not only store, but also search and retrieve notes using your voice. Check out the Recite blog to see just how this application works, or if you're not the reading type (which would be alarming, considering you made it this far through the post), why not download it and try it yourself?

Friday, February 13, 2009

If you missed the ActivePrint Traveler giveaway thread that was posted a little over a week ago, now's your chance to check it out and get your entry in before it's too late. There are 25 copies of ActivePrint Traveler up for grabs, which makes for pretty good odds. Simply head over to the giveaway thread, check the rules, and leave a comment. Winners will be announced next week.

Thursday, February 12, 2009

"Watchflag provides flexible alerts for email and text messages on your Windows Mobile device. Alerts are based on rules you define and work with all synchronized folders. Rules can be customized by sender, recipient, subject, importance level, folder name and content of the message body. Watchflag will play distinct tones, vibrate, flash the LED and display a color-coded acknowledgment screen for direct access to new mail."

If you're used to the sophisticated rules system on the desktop Outlook client, Outlook Mobile is a bit of a letdown - when you get a new email, no matter who it's from, you get the same type of alert. Watchflag changes that with some very clever, though not very pretty, on-device software.

Wednesday, February 11, 2009

I received an email today from PocketGear announcing their new App Store for Windows Mobile, and my first thought was "This would have been great two years ago." But now? Every major platform (Apple, RIM, Android, Symbian) either has an app store or will have one soon, so for PocketGear to do this now smacks of bad timing - everyone knows it's just a matter of time until Microsoft releases their own app store. However, in the here and now, PocketGear has you covered with their app store, boasting 950+ Supported Devices, 1000+ Developers, 1000+ Games, and 2500+ Total Apps. Take it for a spin and let us know what you think...

"This release is pre-alpha, and intended to get the product into the hands of early adopters in order to get feed back and bug reports. In order to focus our efforts on getting this release out, we have targeted only one device, the HTC Touch Pro. This has a number of user interface implications, including graphics designed for a 300 dpi screen, control layout intended for a vga screen and reliance on a hardware keyboard for text input."

Fennec has reached a milestone release - a milestone of not-quite-ready-for-primetime-ness! But if you're psyched to try out this Mozilla project on your Windows Mobile device, feel free to enjoy it's pre-alpha goodness. Although be preparred for a bit of an experience with it - I'm already hearing reports that WinMo enthusiasts are giving up after taking a quick look this morning! Why even try it then? Well to summon the spirit of Brad, W?BIC!

Saturday, February 7, 2009

"Resco Brain Games is a collection of 44 mini-games aimed to give the brain a workout. Thanks to the well designed touch-controlled user interface, it is easy for anyone to pick up and play. Resco Brain Games is created to allow people to get competitive with themselves and to improve the brain's ability in the following areas: Memory, Numerical, Analytical and Attention."

The latest iteration of Brain Games features an updated interface, an additional 8 mini-games, a new category, favourites, user profiles and (I like this) native support for widescreen devices, both WQVGA and WVGA. You can grab a trial copy or purchase the set for $19.95 through our affiliate store. Registered users of version 2.x can upgrade for $9.95, unless you bought it within the last 60 days, in which case the upgrade is free. Read on for the press release! Read more...

Friday, February 6, 2009

This is the service we've formerly heard referred to as Skyline Skybox. Scott Rockfeld, Director in the Windows Mobile group at Microsoft, gave this public statement today:

"Today, Microsoft's My Phone Web site went live prior to its scheduled debut. However, we are excited about the new Microsoft My Phone service, which will be available as a limited, invite-only beta. This is a significant milestone for Microsoft as it connects the phone to the PC and Web, making mobility a key pillar for the company's software+services strategy.

This new Microsoft cloud service syncs critical information (e.g., contacts, calendar appointments, tasks, text messages, photos, video, etc) on a user's mobile phone to a password protected Web site. Once synchronized, people can easily back-up and restore mobile phone data. My Phone provides an easy to use Web portal where people can access and manage content on the phone, and share that information with others.

My Phone helps people:

• Keep their information backed up if they lose or break their phones.

• Transition information if they switch to new phones.

• Access the same information from their phone or PC."

This is shaping up to be a very interesting service in a number of ways - first, at launch it's going to be free. Second, if you've already got a phone synching with an Exchange server, your calendar/contacts/tasks. This is, essentially, Exchange ActiveSync for the rest of the world who's not using Exchange. We'll see how it plays out - especially how locked-in it is to Windows Live services. Will it play nice if you're using other services? Even if it doesn't, this could be THE killer reason for some people to switch to Windows Live services instead of competing services from Google, Yahoo, etc. Check out the My Phone site for more details.

UPDATE: My understanding of My Phone has been clarified - it's not "Exchange for the rest of us" like I first thought; at least, not yet.

"The new Spb Wallet 2.0 - a secure repository of most valuable private information, such as PINs, passwords, keys, account, passport, and credit card numbers - has versions for non- and touchscreen Windows Mobile devices, Symbian Series 60 smartphones (including Nokia 5800 touch screen), Apple's iPhone and iPod, and a desktop component. The new multiplatform approach allows users of Spb Wallet to keep their private data safe, even when they swap phones or mobile platforms. Spb Wallet securely stores sensitive information AES 256-encrypted and password-protected, supports automatic lockup, clipboard cleanup, and protects from phishing. The data can be synchronized between (and accessed from) multiple PCs and mobile devices. The virtual, electronically stored items, such as cards and passports look like real ones: Spb Wallet 2.0 offers an integrated online database of over seven thousand most popular cards, and the option to order more custom images - for free. The new Wallet 2.0 for Windows Mobile boasts Autocomplete for PIE, new finger-friendly UI, adaptive skins, smart scrolling, gestures, animation effects, and a new logon panel. The desktop version offers advanced integration with web browsers, automatic supply and capture of websites login information, password generator, migration wizard from custom CSV formats and other wallet applications."

There's certainly no shortage of new and improved features in Spb Wallet 2.0. It's in our affiliate software store (Windows Mobile Standard and Classic/Professional) in the form of a free trial version, or a full version for $29.95. However, if you're an Spb Wallet 1.x user, you can upgrade to Spb Wallet 2.0 for $14.95 - or for the sweet price of $0, if you purchased it within the last 90 days. Check out the press release for links and additional details.

Microsoft has released the Microsoft Mobile Manager for Netflix for Windows Mobile devices. It allows you to manage your Netflix queue, add movies to the queue and even watch movie trailers on your device.

It works pretty well. Up until now I had been using the mobile web page Netflix had but that is a bit tedious for managing much more than 10 movies in your queue. Unfortunately, the search in the app is no better than the mobile web page - you can only search for movie titles, not actors, which is a pain. I can never remember the movie title I saw a commercial for, but I can remember who was in it. Still, it is a pretty slick app and hopefully they will add features to make it even better. It is free. You do have to have a Windows Live account to access the download.

Thursday, February 5, 2009

"I've been curious about how Microsoft plans to try to catch up with its mobile-phone competitors given the slow, plodding pace at which it has been rolling out new versions of its Windows Mobile platform. After asking around, it sounds like the Softies are definitely aiming to speed up development. While Windows Mobile officials won't talk about ship-date targets (hmmm... sounds like Windows client), some folks familiar with Microsoft's plans are talking. Here's the latest I'm hearing from my sources..."

According to Mary-Jo Foley, Windows Mobile 6.5 devices will be coming out from device makers in September, Windows Mobile 7 is released to testers (meaning it's basically code complete except for bug-squishing) in November of 2009, and we'll see the first Windows Mobile 7 devices in April 2010.

Wednesday, February 4, 2009

"Courtesy of 'some well-connected sources who've asked to remain anonymous' ZDNet has come across a roadmap for SkyBox. SkyBox 1.0 will be able to backup and restore data, manage content, and share that content with other users. It will go into beta in mid-February and will be free for customers thanks to an ad-supported Web portal."

More details are emerging on Microsoft's alleged charge into the cloud. According to the article (the news first broke through ZDNet), there will be two further enhancements of Skybox. The first, Skybox 1.5, will launch in the summer and feature a premium service along with a free standard service. Skybox 2.0 will be integrated with SkyMarket as well as feature greater integration with other Microsoft cloud services, although no timeline is available for this version. Things appear to be heating up, and we're still two weeks away from MWC when hopefully all things will become clear.

Tuesday, February 3, 2009

Some of you may be familiar with ActivePrint. Well, not too long ago, Pocket Watch Software (the folks behind ActivePrint) released ActivePrint Traveler, which they say is their easiest-to-use mobile printing solution yet. Want to know how it works? Scoot over to their Web site to find out, and grab a free trial version while you're at it.

But why settle for a trial version when you can have the full version? Yes, as promised, we have more swag to give away to you, dear Thoughts reader: not 5, not 10, but 25 copies of ActivePrint Traveler!

And now for the rules:

Leave a comment in this thread, stating the brand and model of your home or office printer, and the version of Windows Mobile you're using (either Standard or Classic/Professional). It's that simple!

Only one comment per person, because we're advocates of fair play.

Note that if you're registering and leaving a comment for the first time, your post probably won't appear right away as it needs to be approved by our friendly moderators.

The giveaway is open to anyone and everyone, except maybe the folks at Pocket Watch Software. So, whether you're in the United States, snowed under in the UK, or sweltering in yet another heatwave in Australia, give it a shot and you may just get lucky.

Entries will be accepted until 11:59 PM GMT on February 15, 2009.

Winners will be chosen with the aid of highly complex genetic algorithms. Just kidding. Winners will actually be chosen randomly, and subsequently announced on the front-page.